We are happy to have with us this
weekend Fr. John Hurley, CSP. He is here to preach the Annual Paulist Appeal. And
so this weekend we celebrate the Paulist Patronal Feast of the Conversion of
St. Paul. Thank you for your warm welcome to Fr. Hurley. All the Paulists here
are most grateful for your support of our mission and community. THANK YOU!!!!
Two weeks ago I began an
occasional series on the corporal works of mercy. We are now in the
Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy. Last time we looked at the first corporal
work of mercy, feeding the hungry.
In addition to physical hunger,
today we also come across many other hungers in people: for meaning, for
purpose, for intimacy, for belonging, for identity. These hungers are every bit
as real as physical hunger, and every bit as damaging. However, they are often
harder to see and harder to relieve.
I believe we Christians can feed
these other hungers by witnessing to joy.
We have heard GOOD news. That is what “Gospel” means; good news. All people
have deep needs, deep hungers, to have meaning and purpose, to have a sense of
belonging, to experience intimacy with others and to know who they are. As the
Body of Christ we should have that. And we should want to share that. Pope
Francis is a wonderful example of someone who witness to joy.
What do you get out of being an
active Catholic? Not a lot in terms of
social standing. Hopefully not a load of guilt. Not any financial advantage. So
what is the pay off, the benefit of going to church and striving to live a
Christian life?
It is joy. If your religion does
not bring you a sense of belonging, of relationship to Jesus, of membership in
the Body of Christ, of purpose and meaning and direction in your life, then why
bother? And if you do get this, even if
only partially and fleetingly, then you need to show it. You need to show it so
you can share it. You need to witness to joy so you can feed the many hungry people
around you; people hungry for belonging, for meaning, for purpose, for
direction, for hope, for joy.
Today in contemporary society,
when so many people give into drugs and consumerism and despair, we need to
feed the hungry, but especially the hungers on deeper levels of what it means
to be human. And I think the best way to do this is to witness to joy.
God bless!
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